A Quick Bivy

‘Micro-adventures’ from the front door have been scarce of late… a dastardly summer weather-wise and the usual crowding during the school summer holidays failed to inspire… however, last weekend the weather gods served up some delayed summer weather to coincide perfectly with the end of the summer holiday season. An old roadie mate in need of some first-class bicycle therapy was dragged out, and bivy bags, coffee, and chocolate were hastily thrown at bicycles before pedalling off to a favourite spot I’d not visited in some 15 months. The weather was perfect, albeit somewhat humid which led to a damp night condensation-wise, however with nothing pressing to do come morning bar drink coffee and bask in the early rays of the sun, there was ample time to dry stuff out before slinging a leg back over bicycles. Good for the soul.

This spot does involve using a short section, about 500m or so, of footpath to access it. I’m very much of a mind with Cycling UK on this… so I do ride on footpaths now and then, and have been doing so since I first learned to ride a bike; it’s not illegal, rather it’s a civil trespass if the landowner has chosen not to allow it; around here it’s nearly all either National Trust or large private estates, and the rangers I meet for the former seem a pragmatic bunch and just say “hello”, and as for the latter, with so much of England in the hands of a tiny proportion of fabulously wealthy landowners, some rights to roam similar to Scotland are badly needed. Many of the restrictive and/or illogical laws around access in this country stem from the fact that historically England’s lawmakers and politicians were almost exclusively wealthy landowners whose primary interests were their own, with the interests of the wider population being secondary at best. Little would appear to have changed…

I don’t make a habit of planning rides along footpaths, not wishing to be thought of as a nuisance, but rather I use short stretches occasionally mainly if I need to join other bits of bridlepath together, or to access a spot that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. It also tends to be late in the day or early in the morning when there’s nobody around. Ultimately it causes no harm, or nuisance, and the vast majority of people I meet are absolutely fine with it.. a cheery hello and always giving way go a long way. Every so often however one falls foul of the self-appointed footpath police. One such was encountered just as I was about to sling a leg over my bike to head back to the road. I’d spotted a dog walker approaching so decided to walk my bike at the side of the trail until he’d passed before riding. I offered a cheery “good morning”, to which I received an icy stare… and while I always try to avoid conflict the rest of the encounter left me chuckling for much of the day and went something like this…

Him {angry tone}: These aren’t cycle paths you know!

Me: Respectfully, I’m not cycling, I’m walking.

Him: But…

Him {as I sling a leg over my bike.. deciding it’s just not worth the effort}: But you’re cycling now!

Me: Looks that way... {rides away}

Him {after a perfectly lengthy pause for thought, and shouted from behind}: Arsehole!

That shouted afterthought I found hilariously funny, hence my sharing. I’m not sure what the hoped for outcome might have been. The nearby village is almost entirely second homes these days, the only functioning business that remains is a branch, by appointment I assume, of a posh estate agent (sad times indeed)…  I imagine that’s where he’d come from. No doubt this two-wheeled cornishman ruined his morning, until he found something else to be angry about. Such a contrast to the chap who was fishing off the rocks when we arrived, a super chap full of chat and good vibes. If only everyone could be that way…